Comrade Timi Frank, Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to apologise to Nigerian youths over his comments that they were lazy.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!He also revealed his intention to vie for the party’s national chairmanship seat.
Comrade Frank was of the view that the APC administration had not given youths the opportunity to serve.
He said the attempt to stigmatise and de-market them before the international community like the Commonwealth Business Forum was uncalled for.
Consequently, he said, as a youth, he would be contesting the national chairmanship seat of the APC in the forthcoming national convention to prove that Nigerian youths were ready if offered the opportunity.
President Buhari is reported to have portrayed the Nigerian youths as lazy while addressing the Commonwealth Business Forum in Westminster on Wednesday.
“More than 60 percent of the population is below 30, a lot of them haven’t been to school and they are claiming that Nigeria is an oil producing country, therefore, they should sit and do nothing, and get housing, healthcare, education free,” the president was reported to have said.
But reacting to the comment in a statement in Abuja, on Thursday, Frank reminded the president that more than 20 young Nigerians lost their lives in 2014 in search of employment in the Nigeria Immigration Service.
The APC chieftain, who said the country had the best brains in the world, added that Nigerian leaders had refused to create the enabling environment for the young population to excel.
“If Nigerian youths are lazy, you won’t find them all over the world seeking greener pastures.
“Again, we have so many Nigerian young entrepreneurs who are doing well all over without support from the government.
“So, I disagree with Mr. President on this particular comment.
“Nigerian youths are hardworking; we have the best brains in the entertainment industry, sport, medical, to mention but few, and I think they deserve an apology.”
On his ambition to contest for the office of national chairman, Frank said the support of the president would be critical during the convention and solicited Buhari’s support toward changing the narrative and proving to the world that Nigerian youths were not lazy.
“I’d like to inform Mr. President that if I’m given the opportunity to serve within the rank of APC as national chairman, I have the capacity to do better than the current national chairman.
“This is one of the reasons I have offered myself to serve my country in this capacity for now.
“I hereby solicit your support in giving youths the opportunity to serve.”
